The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigeria Customs Service

  • Customs mourns anti-smuggling officers

    Customs mourns anti-smuggling officers

    Nigeria Customs Service is mourning the killing of its anti-smuggling operatives, Chief Superintendent of Customs Maidama Yabo and Assistant Superintendent of Customs I Babandi Nuraddeen Shaba who were brutally gunned down by people suspected to be Armed Robbers at Dogon Hawa, Katsina State.

    While investigation is on-going to ascertain the motive behind the killing and carting away of one (1) AK 47 riffle with its magazine loaded with ammunitions, helmet, bullet proof vest and Service shoes, NCS Management during its 13th regular meeting for the year held at Abuja expressed deep sense of sorrow over the loss of two (2) officers known for their dedication to the course of fighting smugglers.

    In an emotion laden voice, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (Rtd) bemoaned the fallen colleagues praying the Almighty Allah grant them eternal rest.

    This was contained in a statement that the Public Relations Officer, Mr. Joseph Attah issued in Abuja yesterday.

    According to the statement, while condoling the families of the deceased officers, he expressed the resolve of the Service to do all that is possible to bring the killers to justice.
    NCS Management laments the inclination of smugglers and other criminal elements who are quick to inflict violence on anti-smuggling operatives who are carrying out their statutory functions.

    While lamenting the relative public silence that followed the heinous killing of the two (2) officers, NCS wishes to warn that henceforth, anti-smuggling operatives will not hesitate to use appropriate force to defend themselves while enforcing the extant laws governing Imports and Exports in Nigeria. Customs officers and indeed all security operatives are Nigerians whose lives are valuable to their families and the nation at large.

    The meeting ended with the resolve to appropriately reward the officers posthumously and to see the great lost as a push to go even harder on smugglers.

  • NAQS urges importers of wild animals to get CITES certificates

    NAQS urges importers of wild animals to get CITES certificates

    Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) has advised potential importers of reptiles and other wild animals to obtain CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) certificates.

    Dr Vincent Isegbe, the Coordinating Director of NAQS, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday that those who wanted to import wildlife should obtain CITES permits from Federal Ministry of Environment to avoid any embarrassment.

    He said that reptiles were some of endangered species which could not be imported or exported to any country without CITES certificates.

    “The essence of issuing CITES certificates is to make sure that every nation preserves its own species of wildlife.

    “So, anybody who wants to import, trade or move wild animals as pets from one country to another must register the animals.

    “The world wants to keep track of the movement of such endangered species,’’ he said.

    Isegbe said that the extant laws never forbade people from keeping wild animals as pets, adding, however, that those who wanted to have such pets must follow the due process.

    “Nobody says you must not have wild animals in your home as pets.

    “If you already have them at home and keep them as pets, you must register them; you need to have a permit to keep them.

    “If you have any of these species that have CITES certificates in Nigeria and you want to move to them to another country, you have to write and inform the country you are going to and seek its permission to move them.

    “We want to ensure that as a nation, we have national rules and regulations protecting these animals,’’ he said.

    Isagbe said that all the endangered species could also be moved as articles of trade to earn money.

    The coordinating director stressed that the animals which were recently intercepted in Cross River had no CITES certificates, no import permits and no export permits, adding that the animals were, therefore, illegal consignments.

    He said that the seized animals were still in the custody of the Federal Ministry of Environment, adding that investigations on their importation were still ongoing.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Nigeria Customs Service on July 26 intercepted three consignments containing 140 species of snakes and 660 other animals in Calabar, Cross River.

    NAN reports that the containers were brought in aboard a Cameroonian vessel, ‘MV Flesh,’ through the Calabar waterway.

    The containers reportedly contained snakes and other animals such as geckos, millipedes, hairy frogs and spiders.

  • Customs generate N72m in six months in Borno

    Customs generate N72m in six months in Borno

    The Borno Command of the The Nigeria Customs Service on Tuesday said it generated over N72 million as revenue, in spite of the security challenges posed by the Boko Haram insurgency in the state.

    The Controller of the service in the state, Mr Joshua Angbalaga, who disclosed this in Maiduguri, said the amount was generated between January and June, exceeding the target of N62 million.

    Angbalaga explained that the figure was higher than the N25 million generated by the command in 2016 during the same period.

    He disclosed that the command had also seized 110 bags of rice, 110 jerry cans of cooking oil and hundreds of used tires.

    He said that the items were impounded by the command when some businessmen imported them into the country.

    The controller said the command would hand over the used tires to the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON).

    “We recorded significant success in the past six months in spite of the security challenges.

    “Initially, we had 13 border posts, regrettably only two are functioning now due to the Boko Haram insurgency,” he said.

    Angbalaga reiterated the command’s readiness to continue to discharge its duties effectively in spite of the challenges.

  • NPA gets Senate’s ultimatum on missing vessels

    NPA gets Senate’s ultimatum on missing vessels

    The Senate on Thursday, gave the Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Usman, four days to explain the whereabouts of over 282 vessels allegedly missing from the sea ports.

    Sen. Hope Uzodinma, Chairman, Senate’s Joint Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariff and Marine Transport, gave the ultimatum in Abuja, at an investigative hearing on N30 trillion lost through leakages in Customs and other agencies.

    Uzodinma, who expressed displeasure with the managing director for not honouring the committee’s two previous invitations, said the information on the vessels was imperative and must be available within four days.

    He threatened that the senate may be compelled to pursue a financial crime case against Usman should he fail to heed the committee’s directive.

    “We are looking for these vessels. We have the date of arrival, the ports of discharge and manifest.

    “Everything is with us but in information available to us, no money was collected by Customs, the NPA or any other person.

    “So you have four days to do your written explanation otherwise, we will consider it a financial crime,’’ he said.

    According to Uzodinma, there are also recent missing vessels that we have discovered.

    “I mean recent ones that happened under the new management.

    “The NPA is the custodian of the vessels; it received the cargoes and the terminal is theirs.

    “We want to know under whose authority the cargoes were released, “he said.

    The lawmaker said that the committee had also uncovered the activities of a port cabal that had defrauded the nation to the tune of over N30 trillion.

    “It is common knowledge that infractions abound in daily transactions at the nation’s ports, commercial banks, shipping companies, terminal owners and operators.

    “They connive at ease with officials to defraud the nation of trillions of Naira.

    “Preliminary evidence before us suggests that this is the case in all sea ports,’’ he said.

    He expressed concern that the leakages and infractions were costing the country huge revenue losses, while also constituting security threat.

    The lawmaker, however, expressed optimism that the Senate was determined to tackle the assault on the economy.

    He said that in doing so, the committee would be minded by the reality that those who wanted to bleed the nation to death without remorse must be dealt with without reprieve.

    “Consequently, all those indicted in this crime will be made to face the full wrath of the law.

    “The nature and methodologies of these infractions include abuse of Form M and violation of foreign exchange manual issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), incorrect classification, under-valuation and incorrect declaration.

    “Others are incorrect origin, error in calculation, temporary importation, exemptions and waivers, foreign exchange manipulations, unit cost analysis on excise, smuggling and illegal removal of cargo from terminals and lack of exit certificate by vessels.

    “We shall zero our search light into these areas of infraction and we are certain that our suspicions shall be confirmed.

    “Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Ports Authority, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigerian Shippers Council(NSC), shipping companies , operators of bonded terminals and importers and exporters have questions to answer,’’ he said.
    Uzodinma emphasised that the joint committee would carry out its assignment without fear or favour.

    In his remarks, the President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, decried the indicting reports about the ports.

    Saraki said that it was disturbing to hear that trillions of Naira in revenue was lost annually within the import and export value chain as a result of financial leakages caused through various malpractice and infractions within the system.

    He said that the Senate would use its oversight functions to expose corruption and ensure that all loopholes and leakages in the revenue system were blocked.

    “We are determined to reverse these financial leakages to enable us to get the much-needed resources to fund our children’s education, healthcare and fix the potholes on our roads.

    “I urge you not leave any stone unturned to ensure that we incrementally eliminate waste and corruption in the management of our resources,’’ he said.

    The president of the senate expressed confidence in the joint committee to carry out a thorough job that would help to sanitise the system.

  • Customs accuses banks of sabotaging e-auction

    Customs accuses banks of sabotaging e-auction

    The refusal of Deposit Money Banks (DMB) to participate in the recently launched e-auction bidding exercise of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Tuesday unsettled its Comptroller-General, Col. Hameed Alli (rtd), who accused the banks of sabotaging the service’s effort at collecting revenue for the federation.
    He said that: “I am surprised and I don’t know what to say. This is an economic sabotage. The money you are going to collect is not coming to Customs, it is not coming to me as a person, it is going to the federation account that will be distributed to the three tiers of government. So, you deny that.”
    The Customs boss spoke in an interactive session with the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of 17 banks that honoured his invitation to his office in Abuja.
    He expressed surprised that the same banks that participated in auction exercise when it was run manually distanced themselves from the ongoing automated auction system, leaving only Jaiz Bank as the sole participants.
    With the participation of one bank, the process was cumbersome for the bidders, who concluded that the exercise was skewed to favour Northners and Muslims.
    He was surprised that the same banks that collect duties for the NCS were reluctant to be part of the e-auction bidding process.
    Alli said that “for us to initiate this process and the banks pull out calls for concern. One is that we want to get some funds from there. Two, it’s going to ease the process of what we do, and it will encourage transparency in what we do. And the essence of what we do is to ensure that there is transparency  collected revenue for the federation.”
    The Customs boss who said the banks took the e-auction exercise aback, however said he was glad that 17 banks CEOs were in the session to lay bare their minds on the issue for possible solution.
    “I want to know if there are problem, and what are the problems?” he asked.
    He noted that fraudulent bidders had infiltrated the process by conniving with one another to circumvent the transparency and integrity of the exercise .
    According to him, whoever cuts corner will be delisted from the system.
    So far, he said he could not readily state how much the service has lost as a result of the non-participation of the banks in the exercise.
    He however dropped the hint that the bidding process has yielded N25,375,500.00 to the federal government.
    The bank chiefs however took turn to explain their challenges with the e-auction bidding which were mostly technical issues.
    Zenith Bank Plc said it was still trying to work on its software to participate in the exercise.
    Guaranty Trust Bank, said no bank would deliberately sabotage the process. But Citi Bank noted that the agreement it had with the NCS that elapsed in December 2014 was yet to be revalidated.
    According to the bank, the gap is that the banks were not involved.
    All the parties resolved that a technical committee that has all their representatives would meet from time to time to iron out all the technical issues until the stabilization of  e-auction process.
  • Customs yet to know expected revenue from e-auction

    Customs yet to know expected revenue from e-auction

    The Comptroller-General, Nigeria Customs Service, Col. Hammed Ali (retired) on Monday said that the service was yet to know how much revenue it was expecting from the e-auction that it just commenced.

    Ali, who was fielding questions from reporters in Abuja during the launch of the e-auction platform for forfeited cars, noted that in the long run, the NCS will be able to state the amount so far generated from the exercise.

    He stressed that it was difficult to state the amount from the flag-off since the seizure has no end.

    Asked to state how much revenue the organisation was expecting from the exercise, he said that “at this stage we will be unable to tell you how much we are expecting because it all involves items from seizures from the cargo. As we get them condemned by the regular court we include them into the process. So, it is an ongoing process that we do not schedule and end to it.And for us to say this is how much we are expecting at this stage I think it will not be correct.

    But we know the number of items we have and we know we are still in the process of doing the evaluation of some of them which will be included in the portal. But for us to categorically tell you this is how much we are expecting, I think at this stage is not possible but in the midstream, we will be able to tell you how much so far.

    And for us to say this is how much we are expecting at this stage I think it will not be correct. But we know the number of items we have and we know we are still in the process of doing the evaluation of some of them which will be included in the portal. But for us to categorically tell you this is how much we are expecting, I think at this stage is not possible but in the midstream, we will be able to tell you how much so far.

    The platform which has now replaced the manual process is to ensure effective sales of seized cars, as well as to create an avenue to generate more revenue while ensuring accountability and transparency in the process.

    According to him,  the auction exercise is in line with the provision of Section 167 (2) CAP C45 and section 2(1) and (2) CAP C46 of the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) which gives the service the powers to dispose seized and overtime cargoes after they must have undergone judicial process.

    The Controller-General in his words, “In the past, stakeholders had accused the service of Nepotism, short-changing the government of revenue through arbitrary auction fees to be paid by allottees and sundry corruption allegation against the service”. Adding that this innovation seeks to put an end to the usual bottlenecks encountered in the auction process.

    The process which is a continuous one, has seized cars in the website which is open to bidders from all works of life and the highest bidder will be notified via email and thereby given the necessary directives.

    Speaking on the process, the technical group disclosed that a website has been made available for interested individuals to visit. Adding that the process has been simplified for the common man to understand as it only involves three key steps.

    Participants are however required to create an e-wallet on the platform, and pay in an administrative fee of one thousand naira to be granted access to bid in any available auction. Participants are expected to bid with a minimum of N10,000. At the end of each auction, the highest bidder(winner) is given five working days to pay, failure to so automatically means the second highest bidder will be declared the Winner.

    He however called on the general public to do the right thing to avoid their goods being seized.

  • Customs, rice farmers sign MoU to stop rice smuggling

    Customs, rice farmers sign MoU to stop rice smuggling

    The Nigeria Customs Service and the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to stop rice smuggling through land border into the country.

    Alhaji Aminu Goronyo, President Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), disclosed this on Wednesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

    He said even though the importation of rice through the land borders was banned since April 2016 with an extension to the restriction of rice into the Nigerian market from the Export Processing Zones (EPZ), yet smugglers still engaged in the unwholesome act.

    Goronyo warned Nigerians against the consumption of foreign rice, saying that most of the imported rice is stale and only meant for animal and fish feeds.

    He said result of test by NAFDAC through some samples of some of the rice seizures had ascertained that smuggled rice through the land borders was unfit for human consumption.
    “99 per cent of rice smuggled through the land borders are not fit for human consumption,” he said.

    Goronyo said that the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd), reiterated recently at a joint meeting with RIFAN and Customs that rice importation remain banned through the land borders.

    The RIFAN President said to ensure effective monitoring of the land borders, the Comptroller-General has approved a 12-man implementation committee to be headed by Assistant Comptroller-General, Alino Dangaladima.

    He said Customs promised to continue to ensure the restriction of rice import through the land borders to boost local production.

    He said that the Comptroller-General agreed that there was need for total ban on rice importation and effective monitoring of the land borders to stop the activities of the smugglers.

    The RIFAN president added that the customs boss reinstated that any attempt to import rice through the land borders would be resisted, saying the position remain unchanged.

    He said the customs told them that it had deployed more officers and men to borders to enforce the order.

    According to him, customs had also re-organised its anti-smuggling patrols to provide additional capability, to enforce the ban of rice import through the land borders.

    Goronyo said that the committee would be replicated at the state level to be headed by all state chairmen of RIFAN and its members would serve in the committee to be headed by the state comptroller of customs.

    He said the enforcement has become imperative because the ongoing Rice Revolution undertaken by many state governments, and Strategic Interventions by the Federal Government Agencies was a step toward self sufficiency.

    According to Goronyo, if adequate measure is not taken to stop the activities of the smugglers, it would have adverse effects on the bumper harvests expected from the rice revolution.

    The RIFAN President commended the customs officials for taking the giant stride to reinstate the confidence of the RIFAN and assuring the farmers of adequate markets for their products.

    He said that the rice that is coming into the country was very huge and not quantifiable, but because Nigeria has a big market one could not see the effect immediately, but gradually the local production would suffer for it.

    Goronyo said that the annual rice production in Nigeria has increased from 5.5 million tonnes in 2015 to 5.8 million tonnes in 2017.

    He said that in 2015, Nigerians spent not less than N1 billion daily on rice consumption, adding that while spending had drastically reduced, consumption had increased because of increased local production of the commodity.
    “The consumption rate now is 7.9 million tonnes, while the production rate is 5.8 tonnes per annum,’’ he said.

  • Customs generates N239bn in Q1 2017

    Customs generates N239bn in Q1 2017

    The Nigerian Custom Service (NCS) generated a total sum of N239.4billion in the first three months of this year, figures obtained from the Federal Ministry of Finance have revealed.

    The figure is contained in a document showing activities in the Ministry of Finance in the last two years.

    According to the document, Customs revenue performance for the first quarter of this year exceeded its target of N193.2billion.

    It said: “This performance was achieved through a reform programme aimed at restructuring the agency, re-orientation of its officers, removing defects and adopting simplified procedures in its activities.

    “The Customs collected N904.07billion in 2015 against a target of N944.4billion, the total collection in 2016 was N898.67billion against the target amount of N973.3billion.

    “Between January and March 2017, the Customs was able to generate N239.4billion, thereby exceeding the target of N193.22billion set for the period.”

    The Service also said it had complied with a presidential directive to deliver all seized perishable goods to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) affected by the insurgency in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and Benin camps.

    NAN

     

     

  • Governors lament low rice quality imported under Jonathan

    Governors lament low rice quality imported under Jonathan

    The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) comprising the 36 governors of the Federation have expressed worries over the substandard quality of rice in Nigerian.

    According to them, the rice is sometimes harmful to the human body.

    The governors, in a statement by the Head, media & public affairs of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Abulrazaque Bello- barkindo, called on the Nigeria Customs Service to expeditiously take measures to arrest the situation.

    They said that huge consignment of rice still finding its way into the market was imported into the country since 2014 when the immediate past administration issued a very liberal import license regime to its election financiers who were able to bring a substantial quantity of rice into the country using a waiver from the presidency at the time.

    The governors argued that while some bulk of the consignment was stale, others were either rejected in other countries or had overstayed in various warehouses before they found their way into Nigeria through the activities of some unscrupulous elements.

    The governors had summoned the Nigeria Customs Service to shed light on the matter so that a solution to the problem would be found.

    Governors expressed concern that Nigerians were either falling sick or losing their lives to the consumption of these substandard produce even though some of the states of the country have commenced elaborate efforts to produce rice in commercial quantity with a view to halting the nation’s over-reliance on staples that can be produced locally.

    The governor also frowned at the situation where Nigerians snubbed the locally produced commodity in preference for foreign ones which were most of the time, stale, contaminated or even fake.

    In his brief to the Governors’ Forum, the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, represented by Deputy Comptroller General Dangaladima Aminu said that although there is an upsurge in the smuggling of rice through the nations land borders, there has been no alteration to the prohibition on the importation of rice through Nigeria’s land borders and that any quantity of rice which finds its way into Nigeria through land routes was smuggled.

    Dangaladima noted that rice was usually smuggled into the country through unauthorized border routes which span more than 4000km and that the smugglers were aided by border communities who alternated between motorcycles, canoes and rafts to smuggle contraband rice into the country.

    He added that “your excellencies, it may interest you to note that a motorcycle can make up to 30 trips with six 50kg bags of rice per night depending on the distance and when the border communities are not smuggling the produce themselves, they are aiding or providing cover for smugglers.”

    However, Dangaladima added that rice merchants had recorded huge losses as a result of seizures by the customs. He disclosed that in 2014 customs seized 12000 metric tons of the commodity, 4503 tons in 2015 and 14000metric tons in 2016.

    He informed the governors that his organization “takes the issue of smuggling of rice seriously, having identified the danger posed by it to the economic well-being and health hazards it constitutes to the Nigerian people.”

     

  • Custom impounds N6.8m worth of rice

    Custom impounds N6.8m worth of rice

    The Nigeria Customs Service, Western Marine Command, (WMC),  on Tuesday said its officers seized 941 bags of rice estimated at N6, 830,791 being smuggled into the country.

    The new Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Sarkin Kebbi, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the seizure was barely a month after he assumed duty at the command.

    “As you are aware, I took over the helm of affairs in this command on Tuesday, 25th April, 2017.

    “My first official assignment was on the 27th April, 2017 where I led a team of inspectors from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture delegated by the Office of the National Security Adviser to inspect a vessel, MV TEAM TANGO, that was arrested.

    “The visit was embarked upon to take samples of cargo on board, PRILLED UREA, presumed to be used by terrorists to manufacture improvised explosive devices (IEDS).

    “The Western Marine Command is an enforcement unit and its main function is to protect the water-ways, fight insecurity and combat smuggling.

    “ We have been able to make unprecedented seizures within 30 days in office across the South Western states and right up to Kebbi State in the Northern part of the country at different dates and times,’’ Kebbi said.

    The CAC said that the achievement was borne out of the new approach to duty in the command by the officers and men.

    He said that the goal of the command was to ensure that the waterways were safe from unscrupulous businessmen and women, whose activities endanger national security.

    Kebbi said that realising the enormity of the task ahead, he intends to visit states, institutions and organisations within the command, in order to familiarise himself with the terrain and gather intelligence necessary for effective administration.

    “ This commenced on Tuesday, 16th of May, 2017 in company of my principal officers to Badagry and Yekemeh Stations.

    “ The tour extended to the paramount ruler of Badagry, Oba Akran of Badagry, as well as the Baale of Pashi, the head of Pashi community.

    “ Both monarchs received us warmly and I expressed my gratitude to them for their fatherly love and care for the officers,’’ he told NAN.

    Kebbi said that the task of nation building was a call to service, and therefore implored smugglers to change their business to legitimate ones.

    According to him, there will be no hiding place for them any longer.